Ghanaian Currency Slips to Another Low Versus the US Dollar

After it slipped to a rate of about 12:1, the Ghanaian cedi became the latest African currency to touch a new low versus the U.S. dollar, albeit on the unofficial foreign exchange market. Having started 2022 trading around 6.25 per dollar, the cedi has now lost over 90% against the appreciating greenback.

Protest Against the Cedi’s Depreciation

The Ghanaian cedi recently became the latest African currency to fall to a new low versus the U.S. dollar in 2022, after its unofficial exchange rate against the greenback reportedly slipped to C12.10:$1. Following this latest depreciation, the cedi, which began the year trading at around 6.25 per dollar, has now lost over 90% of its value in just over ten months.

According to one local report, the cedi’s depreciation has resulted in the impairment of some traders’ capital. As per the report, some traders in the country’s Ashanti region have protested against the cedi’s depreciation and Ghana’s rising cost of living by closing their shops.

Besides the Ghanaian cedi, other African currencies that have lost ground versus the U.S. dollar include Nigeria’s naira, the Ethiopian birr, and the South African rand. As has been reported by Bitcoin.com News, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary tightening policy, which has seen it repeatedly hike interest rates, is causing the U.S. dollar to appreciate versus many currencies. A strengthening dollar has, in turn, fueled inflation in many countries, including Ghana.

Ghana Inflation Surges Again

Meanwhile, according to a recent announcement by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the cocoa-producing country’s year-on-year inflation rate for September stood at 37.2%. This figure is 3.3 percentage points higher than the rate for August. However, according to the statistical agency’s latest data, prices only went up by 2% between August and September.

Also, in another development, the GSS announced it has changed the way it calculates the inflation rate. Samuel Kobina Annim, a government statistician, reportedly said the base year had been changed from 2018 to 2021. In addition, the weights of the regions were adjusted.

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara is a Zimbabwe award-winning journalist, author and writer. He has written extensively about the economic troubles of some African countries as well as how digital currencies can provide Africans with an escape route.